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Capture a Scottish Icon – take part in the Forth Bridge World Heritage Photo Competition

9 August 2013

It is regarded as a marvel of engineering – an iconic landmark that is recognised the world over. Now, members of the public and particularly those who live close to the bridge are being invited to take part in a competition to capture the railway bridge in all its glory.

The competition will run from 10th August to 30th September 2013. All entries must be digital images and full details of how to enter can be found at www.forthbridgeworldheritage.com. The top prize includes a visit hosted by Network Rail to the Forth Bridge, which is not normally accessible to the public.

Historic Scotland - which is part of the steering group established by the Forth Bridges Forum - will be submitting the railway bridge for World Heritage nomination to the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and this photographic competition will help to inform the nomination process.

“The Forth Bridge is a triumph of Scottish engineering skill. It is a structure that everyone in Scotland identifies with. I look forward to seeing the images captured by the public, in support of its nomination for World Heritage Status.”

The Forth Bridges Forum – which includes a number of local and national organisations – is keen to gather input from across Scotland in support of the iconic railway bridge’s nomination. The competition is the latest stage of local community engagement on the World Heritage nomination, which includes a public consultation that is due to close on Sunday 11th August (see www.forthbridgeworldheritage.com).

A Nomination Dossier will be compiled that demonstrates the ‘outstanding universal value’ of the bridge, together with a Management Plan that shows how the site would be managed if the nomination is successful. The final document will be submitted to UNESCO in early 2014, with the final assessment for World Heritage Site inscription taking place in 2015.

An important consideration in the process is the identification of the best views of the Bridge so that they can be protected from intrusive development in the future. With the help of the public, the photographic competition will allow the best and most popular viewpoints to be identified and protected by the local planning process.

Miles Oglethorpe, Head of Industrial Heritage at Historic Scotland, whose team is preparing the nomination bid said:

“No matter how often you see the Forth Bridge, you never tire of it, with its breath-taking scale and elegance. It’s an irresistible attraction to anyone with a camera. We are hoping that as many people as possible will put some thought into identifying their favourite views and then capture them for the competition. Weather and light conditions will also play their part, so we are looking forward to seeing some artistic contributions too. “

Individual entrants can submit up to 5 images. Each of the images should be no more than 10 megabytes in size.

The best entries will appear on the website and could potentially be included in publications and general publicity supporting the nomination. In addition, the winning images will be included in the Nomination Dossier that is submitted to UNESCO.

All entrants should refer to the terms and conditions outlined on the website.

Notes for editors:

The nomination is being overseen by the Forth Bridge World Heritage Steering Group of the Forth Bridges Forum, which includes Network Rail as owner of the Bridge, Transport Scotland, Historic Scotland, Fife Council, City of Edinburgh Council, Queensferry & District Community Council, Queensferry Ambition, North Queensferry Community Council, North Queensferry Heritage Trust, FETA and VisitScotland.

The nomination of the Forth Bridge to be considered as a World Heritage Site is due to be submitted in early 2014 with a decision expected from the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in the summer of 2015.

There are currently five World Heritage Sites in Scotland: St Kilda inscribed in 1986; Old and New Towns of Edinburgh (1995); Heart of Neolithic Orkney (1999); New Lanark (2001) and the Antonine Wall (part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire) (2008).

Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government charged with safeguarding the nation’s historic environment. The agency is fully accountable to Scottish Ministers and through them to the Scottish Parliament.